The Record That Smith Is Chasing Is 2-0

Dean Smith laughed when asked if he had considered the possibility of a victory shower on a basketball court. Belly laughs are not normally his style. But when the possibility was raised, the day before a victory by his North Carolina Tar Heels would become a record 877th of his 36-year career, Smith laughed so hard he shook.

When he was asked today about the significance of the game against Colorado Saturday afternoon, Smith's outlook could not have been more clear.

''Coach, would a victory tomorrow bring more relief knowing you're alive in the N.C.A.A.'s, or . . . .''

North Carolina's 82-74 survival against the 16th-seeded Fairfield Stags on Thursday night, thanks to a second-half effort that Smith considered his team's finest of the season, remained impressive a day later. Highly ranked teams were vanishing even as Smith spoke. Georgia was going, and South Carolina, with the former Smith assistant Eddie Fogler, was on its way out. The early unexpected results in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament explained why Smith has appeared uncomfortable with a personal achievement being emphasized over his team's task.

The Tar Heel objective will be complicated by the play of Colorado's Chauncey Billups, who scored 24 points against Indiana, and the ankle problem of the Carolina junior Shammond Williams, who is expected to guard Billups. ''The only way it's going to keep me from playing is if they cut it off,'' Williams said.

Each of the second-round games to be played here Saturday will involve teams that took significant steps in the first round. Colorado's 80-62 victory over Indiana equaled the worst N.C.A.A. defeat for the Hoosiers in the 26-year Bob Knight era. Villanova was able to adapt to the fast pace of Long Island University, 101-91, in a matchup the Wildcats had feared because of L.I.U.'s different style. Villanova's opponent, California, calmly held off a Princeton team, 55-52, that entered the game with a 19-game winning streak and felt strongly it could advance.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

Smith will reluctantly stand in a spotlight Saturday if his team can earn a victory that will surpass the record total he now shares with Adolph Rupp of Kentucky. But the North Carolina game, and the Villanova-California matchup, have more to do with the twin goals of survival and advancement.

A Villanova victory would place the Wildcats in a regional semifinal game for the first time since 1988. The Wildcats, seeded fourth, are led by a senior-dominated group that has had to deal with early-round exits as the third-seeded team in the last two tournaments. ''It's a year later, or two years later,'' said Alvin Williams, the senior point guard who has averaged 19.7 points and 50 percent shooting in the last 15 games. ''We know what we have to do.''

After the more fluid pace of L.I.U., Villanova will now face a Cal team with a dependence on inside strength. ''That could be a telling day in terms of how far our half-court offense has come,'' said Steve Lappas, the Villanova coach. Tim Thomas, the Wildcat freshman who has averaged 22 points and 8 rebounds in the last 5 games, will be guarded by Tony Gonzalez, a 6-foot-6-inch, 250-pound junior forward who is expected to become a first-round pick in the National Football League draft.

Gonzalez, a tight end for the Cal football team, replaces Ed Gray, the leading Bear scorer who is out with a broken bone in his right foot. Thomas, at 6-9 1/2 and 230 pounds, has been most effective when near the basket. That will be more difficult when he faces the broad-shouldered, physical style of Gonzalez's game. ''That's the only way I think I'll be able to stop him,'' Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said that his family has been concerned that a basketball injury could hurt his chances in the N.F.L. draft. ''I'm not in it for the N.B.A.,'' he said. ''I'm not in it for the glory. This is like a child going out and playing basketball. He plays it because he loves it.''